Only one-quarter of Gaza $3.5bn reconstruction aid delivered – report

Less than 27 percent of the $3.5 billion aid pledged by international donors to help rebuild Gaza in the wake of unprecedented destruction caused by last summer's Israeli Operation Protective Edge has been disbursed, a new report says.

The Association of International Development Agencies stated in
its report, "Charting a New Course: Overcoming the stalemate in
Gaza," that while comprehensive data on individual pledges and
disbursement has not yet been made publicly available, the World
Bank found that only 26.8 percent ($945m) of the funding
earmarked for Gaza had been disbursed so far.

"The promising speeches at the donor conference have turned
into empty words," Oxfam executive director Winnie Byanyima
said. "There has been little rebuilding, no permanent
ceasefire agreement and no plan to end the blockade. The
international community is walking with eyes wide open into the
next avoidable conflict, by upholding the status quo they
themselves said must change."

According to the report, international donors
have been hesitant to pay out their reconstruction pledges
without progress towards the reestablishment of the Palestinian
Authority (PA) in Gaza.

"The paradox is that the lack of reconstruction is
exacerbating the potential for conflict," the report says.
"By refraining from releasing funds due to fear of political
instability in Gaza, donors are entrenching divides that heighten
instability."

Meanwhile, the cost of relief, recovery and reconstruction in
Gaza in the aftermath of the Operation Protective Edge (OPE) has
been estimated at $4 billion. According to UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, the war caused an "unprecedented level of
destruction" and it could take decades to complete the
recovery from the man-made humanitarian crisis.

While there have been repairs to some damaged buildings, almost
no large-scale reconstruction projects have started to date, and
no permanent housing has been rebuilt, the report has stated.
Only 36 schools with minor damage have been repaired out of a
total of over 258 damaged and eight destroyed in the attacks.
Reconstruction has barely started on hospitals and health clinics
due to a lack of construction materials and funds for
reconstruction.

Efforts to revive the economy in Gaza are hampered by growing
deficiencies in the energy and water sectors, which were already
in a critical condition prior to the military operation in 2014.
Gaza's sole power plant was hit by Israeli airstrikes twice
during the Israeli offensive. Despite having been repaired, it
was recently forced to shut down as a result of a lack of funds
to replenish fuel reserves, and currently runs on half capacity.

According to Tony Laurance, CEO of MAP UK, the world is
"shutting its eyes and ears to the people of Gaza when they
need it most."

"Reconstruction cannot happen without funds, but money alone
will not be enough. With the blockade in place we are just
reconstructing a life of misery, poverty and despair,” he
says.

Operation Protective Edge, the 50-day military campaign launched
against Hamas last year, left 12,400 housing units completely
destroyed and over 17,000 families (100,000 individuals)
homeless. At least 2,132 Palestinians were killed, of whom nearly
70 percent were civilians, including 501 children, according to
OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) data.

Amnesty International found that "the repeated,
disproportionate attacks on homes indicate that Israel's current
military tactics are ... fundamentally at odds with the
principles of international humanitarian law." It also noted
that "Palestinian armed groups, including the armed wing of
Hamas, repeatedly launched unlawful attacks during the conflict,
killing and injuring civilians."

Operation Protective Edge was the third and most destructive
Israeli military operation in Gaza in the last six years. The
temporary ceasefire reached late in August 2014 has not prevented
further violence, however. As of the end of March, there were
over 400 incidents of border and naval fire by Israeli forces
since the ceasefire, and four rockets have been fired from Gaza
toward Israel, resulting in no injuries, according to data
provided by the Gaza Strip NGOs Safety Office (GANSO).